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Three Tips for Wildly Successful Training or Onboarding Videos

In the last week alone, I’ve been asked about onboarding and/or training videos at least three times! Whether you are a French teacher, real estate agent trainer, life coach, music teacher, professional organizer or an employment placement company, you no doubt realize the need to streamline some of your valuable knowledge, communications and training.

Think back to your music class. Your teacher shows you placement of your fingers and you think you’ve got it—but alas, you arrive home and are completely lost. Wouldn’t it be great if you could simply log on to your instructor’s site, pull up a video, and voila! It’s like having your instructor right there with you.

By the same token, think about the new employee. Everyone has had the experience of showing up for work on the first day … deer in headlights, they don’t really know what it is that they are supposed to be doing let alone where the bathroom is. Imagine a world where the new employee arrives a little less anxious – this translates to an employee more able to jump in and start working, producing … doing the work you hired them to do.

Videos that can be watched, paused and then watched again at our own leisure are highly valuable. Preparing and welcoming workers prior to their first day of work has value. Being able to see a lesson over again to clarify what you didn’t quite understand in class is valuable.

Video also allows for more consistency in training. You know how it is. You have a lesson plan in hand or a training module completely worked out and then, your audience asks questions … you get off track and miss a few items and even add things in that weren’t in the plan. Adding things in—not a problem. But missing key points of information can be disastrous for a new employee or student.

TIP 1: Know your Audience.

You want your student or employee to watch the video. That’s the whole point, right? As a teacher/trainer, I can tell you that you need to remember that there are three basic types of learners: auditory, who lean by hearing the information; visual, who need to see the information; and kinesthetic, who need more of a hands-on experience. What kind of learners do you have in your audience?

Knowing that video can engage two out of the three learning types should give you piece of mind that you are furthering your chances of successful dissemination of information. Videos can be an efficient method for workers/students to get a feel for your business goals, values, and culture.

You need to do some prep work and ask the following questions:

Who are your students or employees? (age, tech savvy, attention span, etc.)

Who are the people you are training? (new hires or beginning students, current employees or students, etc.)

What do they need to know? (company or class policies, how to ________, etc.)

Are they more likely to watch shorter videos on different topics or do it all in one sitting?

What are their lives like during their personal time—the time during which they are most likely going to be watching the video? (Yes, this means think about your own lives. You are hiring an employee who is likely similar.)

What is the purpose of the video? (education, welcoming, reinforcing, reviewing, etc.)

TIP 2: Know Your Message. Storyboard.

You can utilize your onboarding/training videos for a variety of purposes but first you must commit to your message. It’s easy for companies to get caught up in the “ego” part of the video. Don’t get me wrong. The feel good nature that a solid video gives the owner and employee is invaluable but the goal is to hit BOTH targets. “Feel good” and “solid message.” If you look great on video but don’t give the new employee or student what they need to know, you won’t hit your success mark and you will be disappointed with outcomes.

A great way to engage people and encourage viewing is to think about utilizing current employees or students sharing their individual stories. This is a huge icebreaker and helps your viewer identify with your message. Utilizing more than one of your company’s “stars” also encourages viewers to share your message with other potential employees and/or clients.

TIP 3: Know Your Brand.

There are important things to consider before producing your video. In order to create the right tone, “wrap,” and call to action for your video you need to have a solid understanding and feeling of your brand.

Ask yourself the following questions:

What is your company style? Are you casual or are you all business?

Do you use humor?

What kind of music do you want to use?

Is animation appropriate?

Let’s Get Started!

Video is an exceptional way to enhance onboarding and training strategies. Appropriate training aids your efforts to attract quality hires, prepares students or new staff members for their life with your company, and can be essential to creating a happy employee or student as well as reducing the risk of losing them to a competitor.

NOTE: According to the 2012 Allied Workforce Mobility Survey, businesses can anticipate paying around $10,731 to fill a vacant position. Unfortunately, they tend to lose one-quarter of their entire workforce every year, with poor onboarding programs being a key factor in this high turnover. This is a fixable problem! Welcoming the right employee in a positive and reflective way can have long-term positive effects, as high turnover rates don’t reflect well on a company and may cause leading prospects to shy away.